Fatal R44 Crash In Nz

[Coastal]

Link to the New Zealand AD grounding any R44 with main rotor blade P/N C016-7:

 

http://www.casa.gov.au/wcmswr/_assets/main/airworth/airwd/adfiles/rotor/r44/r44-024.pdf

 

Affect on Canadian R44 ops?

 

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/feb/22/new-zealand-helicopter-crash-prompts-grounding-of-aircraft-in-australia

[Coastal]

Sincere condolences to friends and family of those lost.

[Freewheel]

New Zealand Lifts R44 flight ban:

http://www.verticalmag.com/news/article/NewZealandliftsR44flightban

 

Thoughts?

 

Wasn't that long ago that 206 owners were told to comply with an AD which called for a preflight inspection of main rotor blades (using blue dye). Ultimately a pair of those blades failed killing all on board.

[Freewheel]

If memory serves correct, the bell AD was to be carried out based on number of starts

[just looking]

If you are talking about the AD on the long ranger blades. It started out as a blue dye inspection every ??? hours or an X-ray to eliminate the AD. Everyone started X-ray blades. Within a few months of them saying X-ray was fine they reissued the AD stating a serious of blades were limited to 1,400 hours then they were to be scrapped. Needless to say Bell had no blades in stock which grounded a pile of L series aircraft. The reason for this was a crash in Ontario were the blade came apart 10 ours from being at its life limit.

[Freewheel]

That's the one I'm referring to.

 

http://www.tsb.gc.ca/eng/rapports-reports/aviation/2011/a11o0205/a11o0205.asp

[Heliian]

It wasn't an AD at the time.

[Freewheel]

It wasn't an AD at the time.

My bad. I guess my memory failed me.

[Freewheel]

If you are talking about the AD on the long ranger blades. It started out as a blue dye inspection every ??? hours or an X-ray to eliminate the AD. Everyone started X-ray blades. Within a few months of them saying X-ray was fine they reissued the AD stating a serious of blades were limited to 1,400 hours then they were to be scrapped. Needless to say Bell had no blades in stock which grounded a pile of L series aircraft. The reason for this was a crash in Ontario were the blade came apart 10 ours from being at its life limit.

It was every 60 starts or less (Due to stresses on that portion of the blade during start up while rotor system spools up)

Apparently not everyone started X-raying (and it wasn't req'd by TC)

At least 2 fatal accidents occurred

The accident that occurred in Indiana: the blades had just under 800 hrs remaing (to 3600 hrs)

Bell later increased the life of unaffected blades by 400 hrs (to 4000hrs)

[Freewheel]

From the last wipe check to the day of the occurrence, the blade had accumulated 61.3 hours and 41 cycles.